Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market opened higher after yesterday's FOMC-induced retreat. The market-cap weighted S&P 500, which closed below its 50-day moving average yesterday, sports a 0.6% gain and the equal-weighted S&P 500 trades 0.4% higher. 

Gains are muted compared to yesterday's selling, but many stocks are participating in upside moves. Advancers lead decliners by a 3-to-2 margin at the NYSE and at the Nasdaq. 

Eight of the S&P 500 sectors are higher led the communication services (+1.2%) and financials (+1.2%). 

Rising market rates have kept buying in check in equities. The 10-yr yield is up seven basis points at 4.56% after jumping 11 basis points yesterday. 

Existing home sales totaled 4.15 million in November (Briefing.com consensus 4.1 million) following a count of 3.96 million in October. 

The Leading Indicators Index rose 0.3% in November (Briefing.com consensus -0.1%) following a 0.4% decline in October.